Ransom
by SugarRos
Summary: Inuyasha and Kagome live in different worlds under the same roof. When their school is suddenly hijacked and Sango is held dangerously for ransom, Inuyasha and Kagome must put differences aside to save her, before anyone else dies. before Sango is killed.


Ransom

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Author's Note: Hey everyone! I know, I know! I keep saying I won't start any more stories until I'm all done with the current ones, but I can't stand it! I'm writing away at Pretty Kagome: Revised, and I'm getting sick of it. Not to worry, the whole story is plotted out, so writer's block is not going to happen. I just want to write other stories as well.

The idea for Ransom is one I've had for a while now, but I never really took it very far. When I first started writing it, I didn't get more than a few measly parts of a couple of scenes I had floating around in my head, and thus, wrote myself into a block, with no direction. Well, I sat my ass down and actually have a direction, and yes, it's a good one, too.

…On a rather random note, I'm writing this at 1:30 am… and Paranoia Agent just came on Adult Swim… Anime has gotten weird since I was 12 years old and buying Sailor Moon and Ah! My Goddess...

Enjoy.

Disclaimer: Inuyasha and gang do not belong to me. I will be getting a Great Pyrenees that I'll be _naming_ Inuyasha, however, and _that_ Inuyasha will be mine. That's about it.

Poem Disclaimer: The Poem "If all the World" is written by Eowyn Wilcox.

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Chapter 01: Rooftop Romance

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The Sukikyo Academy was a school for the wealthy. The extremely wealthy. With celebrity students and children of politicians and presidents, it was a place that was held above all others when it came to academia. With grades that ran from preschool to Senior year of high school, in three separate buildings, and housed over 2,500 students in attached dorms, high security was a must, and was well paid for by over-worrisome parents.

And though most parents fit under this category, Inuyasha's parents did not.

Inuyasha's parents had not been over-worrisome about him for some time now. In fact, he couldn't remember the last time they worried about anything.

Because both of Inuyasha's parents were dead.

It was as well, because they would have possibly had a heart attack if they had known how he turned out to be.

It was a day like any other day for the kids at Sukikyo Academy, bright and sunny, clear skies of blue, and the faintest of breezes graced the large, open, grassy yards that surrounded the school grounds.

Inuyasha sat on the outdoor fire escape that was placed on the side of the giant, white high school building, watching a couple of squirrels jump between branches on the massive tree in the middle of the yard.

That tree had been there forever, according to school history books. Over five hundred years old to be exact. He wasn't sure if it was true or just an old folk lore to bring more allure to the school, but if the Headmistress of the academy was any comparison to how old the tree was, he'd believe it.

He shook his white head of hair and flicked a couple of strands over his ears, easing his hand through his bangs and closing his eyes, enjoying the quiet moment he rarely got at the hellhole his guardian had forced him to go to. He didn't care if it was the dying wish of his parents. He didn't like the place and nothing was going to change that. He let out a groan as the bell rang, signaling the end of seventh period, and the soon-start of eighth, the last period of the day.

"Fuckin' bell." He muttered, flicking his Lucky Strike cigarette with his thumb and watching the ashes fall to the cement floor. He sighed, in his I'm-too-cool-for-school attitude and took in another drag, deciding it really wouldn't matter if he was a little late to this class anyway. It wasn't like he was failing the damn thing. Besides, it was math, not chemistry, which was the one he'd been skipping. He was okay in math. Math made enough sense.

Taking in one last drag, he pushed the butt of his cigarette into the stair step and moved to stand when the door of the fire exit burst open.

"There you are."

Ah. Shit. "Kouga." Inuyasha kept a cool demeanor as he looked up at his classmate through the bright sunlight.

The eighteen-year-old teenage boy, and one of the few fellow students in the school with youkai blood, stood menacingly over Inuyasha, cracking his knuckles and grinning a reckless sort of grin. "Missed you in class, bitch."

Inuyasha straightened up and slipped his pack of cigarettes into his back pocket before folding his arms. Kouga stood about a half-inch taller than him on flat ground, but with Inuyasha a few steps below, he had to strain his neck upwards to catch his face. "I know it's hard, but you gotta learn to live without me in your life." He grinned, knowing his next comment would hit a deep-imbedded nerve. "Besides, I don't fuck dudes." It was a good comeback. Inuyasha hadn't missed the insult on his name. He knew Kouga looked down on him for being a strain of dog youkai instead of wolf youkai.

Kouga growled and clenched one hand on the stair railing, the other against the rough cement wall of the building, blocking Inuyasha's only way to class. "Down to the field, mutt, I've got a fist with your name on it."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. What else was new? Kouga always had a 'fist with Inuyasha's name on it.' The sad part of it was, Kouga's fist was never really able to hit its target. He'd gotten a few lucky hits within the multiple times they'd battled it out before, but most of the time he just came out looking kind of sad and pathetic.

"What's it about this time, Wolf-boy? Someone hit on your girl?" He hadn't been in the mood for a brawl before, but now he was rearing to go. His fingers itched for a good fight.

"Nah, the last person who hit on my girl I drove away easy enough. And I know you wouldn't cross me there, anyway." He took a few steps down, making Inuyasha take a few down as well, and the rest of Kouga's gang pooled out of the exit after him. Inuyasha didn't turn back to look at his progress down the stairs. He didn't want to break eye contact with Kouga.

The truth was Inuyasha didn't technically know who Kouga's girl was. Kouga was what you'd call a bit full of himself, and as far as Inuyasha knew, he thought every chick with a B-cup or higher was his girl.

"You're right, I wouldn't dare hit on whatever skank you're banging." He grinned, loving that he could push Kouga's buttons so.

Kouga flushed scarlet. "Don't fucking talk about Higurashi like that, you bastard!" He growled out as they finished climbing down the stairs. He shoved past Inuyasha roughly and led the way to the center of the field.

Ah, Higurashi. He searched his memory for a face to match the name. It sounded familiar enough… He knew he had a class with her…

Oh yeah, English, second period. And gym, maybe. Yeah, gym, that was it. What was her first name again? Kago… Kago-something. It bothered him to no end that he couldn't remember. He prided himself on his memory, and liked that he didn't really need to go to his classes in order to pass any of them.

Inuyasha followed behind Kouga and stopped when he did, the rest of the gang forming a circle around him. He couldn't help but roll his eyes again. It was like they'd read the manual for school bully fights. 1. First you threaten the guy you're going to pound. 2. Crack your knuckles menacingly. 3. Say an overly used, cliché line, like, 'I've got a fist with your name on it' or 'I'm gunna kick your ass till tomorrow.' 4. Bring the guy to a wide-open field where the other kids can watch. 5. Form a circle around the guy with the members of your gang. 6. Throw some more insults at each other. 7. Proceed to beat the crap out of him.

"What's the matter, can't take me on yourself?" Inuyasha egged on, really trying to ruffle Kouga into frenzy. "You gotta use your little pack of puppies instead?"

"Shut up!" He roared, holding up his hand as a signal to the others to stand by. "Now Inuyasha, we've got matters to discuss."

"Such as?"

"Such as the money you've stolen from me."

Inuyasha frowned. "I don't remember takin' anything that didn't belong to me."

"You cheated at cards the other day." He pointed to one of his followers. "Takeshi here saw you."

"Takeshi didn't see nothin'." Inuyasha retorted, snarling. "I don't need to cheat to beat you at anything, you mangy wolf, I'm better than you at everything you do. You should know that by now." Heat flushed over his face as anger surged through him. The only thing he hated more than being made a fool of was being called a cheater. Or a liar. Both bothered him a lot, and fuck if Kouga was going to accuse him of being such.

"Give me back the six-hundred you stole from me, mutt."

"And if I don't?" He challenged. It was getting close to that point. Inuyasha swooped his hair quickly up into a rubber band and peeled off the outer coat of his school uniform, loosening up his tie and cracking his knuckles in preparation for a fight.

Kouga grinned, well aware Inuyasha knew what was coming. Then made the hand gesture his puppets knew as the signal to start beating the crap out of someone.

Inuyasha was ready, and as the first of Kouga's followers ran up to him, he swung back with his fist and launched it towards the guy's face, feeling the satisfying 'thunk' of knuckle bone on nose bone. The kid made a gurgling sound before he landed flat on his back, forgotten to the rest, blood pooling from his nose.

A well-placed kick sent the next attacker flying, and he barely managed to block a strike before head-butting his next opponent.

The fourth had jumped onto Inuyasha's back, and gripped him around the throat, squeezing the air from his lungs and pushing him towards the ground. Inuyasha pulled at the guy's arms and was able to turn his head to the side, giving him adequate breathing room and enough strength to flip the guy over his head.

He sat on the poor sucker and pounded away at his face, feeling a guilty sort of relish, engulfed in the adrenaline rush that flowed through him.

He felt alive when he was fighting.

A few moments later he realized the kid wasn't struggling as much anymore, and he stopped berating the guy. Kouga was looking towards the school, and Inuyasha turned his head up to see what was going on.

The bell to end the last, shortened period had rung, and students were filing out from the school in groups, chatting away and whatnot. Inuyasha rolled off the guy he'd just beaten to a pulp, and stood, glancing up at the two girls who were walking with some sort of interest in their general direction.

Inuyasha caught the eyes of the girl closest to him, locking gazes as she walked by next to her friend, clutching onto textbooks and looking slightly disgusted.

"Kagome!" Kouga waved, grinning like a puppy in love.

Oh, right. That was her first name. Kagome. Kagome Higurashi. He watched as she managed a smile aimed at Kouga and waved back, but snapped her attention back to Inuyasha immediately, who hadn't lifted his gaze from her. Her eyebrows knotted as she took in his bloodstained shirt and tie, and shook her head at her friend.

Kouga was taking a step towards the girls, Inuyasha now completely forgotten, when another voice rang out.

"Higurashi! Higurashi, wait up!" A tall, thin boy with light brown short hair came running up to the girls and immediately dove into some intense conversation.

Kouga faulted, but made no move to interrupt.

Well, well, well. That was interesting. It seemed that Kagome wasn't Kouga's skank after all. He'd just really, really, really hoped she would be soon. He could understand why, she was pretty in a non-standout-ish way. Her hair was long and dark black, and she had a good body-type. Not too short, and not too tall. But she was just kind of plain. The type to always have her homework turned in and always on time for class. Perfect attendance.

She was exactly the type Inuyasha would never hang out with.

He knew of Kagome's friend well enough. Sango was well known at the school, but not because she excelled at academics or sports. Her parents were the richest of the rich, the upper crust of all crusts, the king and queen amongst the court. Most of her friends were so to hopefully get in good with her parents. This Kagome girl must have been trying to get in good with her as well. It made Inuyasha roll his eyes in disgust.

Bunch-a suck ups.

He turned, ready to continue his fight with Kouga, but he was already heading back up towards the school. "Oi, where the hell do you think you're going?" Inuyasha shouted.

He turned towards Inuyasha, his hands on his hips, and glanced over at Kagome. "We'll finish this another time, mutt." He spat, anger evident in his voice. Then turned and stomped away, leaving a blood-splattered Inuyasha standing over Kouga's fallen gang.

"Keh, fuckin' wolf. Got my shirt all bloody." He wiped at the blood and headed towards the dorms, wondering how the hell he was going to get the stains out.

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"He's looking at me again." Kagome mumbled to her friend as they made their way to the old tree of the far side of the school year.

"Kouga?" Sango asked. "He always looks at you."

"No, the other guy."

"Who?" She peered around Kagome and caught a glimpse of their white-haired, dog-eared classmate, bloodied up and panting. "Ooooh." She drew out the word in mild interest. "Him."

"Yes, him. It's creepy, the way he keeps staring at me like that." She let out an involuntary shudder. "He's all… bloody." She shook her head, as if to rid herself of the image. "What does Miroku see in him?"

She shrugged. "They've been friends since the beginning of middle school. I think Inuyasha saved Miroku from a fight?"

Ah, yes. How could she possibly forget? Inuyasha was well known across campus, but for all the wrong reasons. He smoked, drank, skipped class, and was rumored to be rather promiscuous. She'd heard stories of him fooling around with girls in bathrooms, janitor closets, teacher's lounges… The list went on.

And now that Sango had started dating Miroku, Kagome had been seeing Inuyasha more and more often, as the two spent a heck of a lot of time together. Maybe that's why Miroku was so perverted? Where else could he get it from?

The one time Kagome had ever talked to Inuyasha was when they'd been paired up in the eighth grade for a science project. He had, of course, left her with all the work and refused to participate at all. She'd had a bad taste in her mouth for him ever since.

"Kagome!"

She looked up at the source of the voice and rustled up a sort of grimacing smile. Kouga was waving animatedly at her from where Inuyasha stood. She waved back and spoke to Sango out of the side of her mouth. "Kouga's gang of guys tried to beat Inuyasha up?"

"Looks like it." Sango rolled her eyes. "When is everyone around here going to learn that no one will be able to kick that guys' ass? Miroku tells me he's invincible."

Kagome's eyes darted back to Inuyasha, who was still glairing at her like he had a problem. She glared right back, taking in his entire form. He was standing with his back straight and his chest puffed out in what he probably thought made him look masculine, his white button-up undershirt splattered with bits of blood, his black school tie loosened at the knot, and his hair pulled back into a low ponytail. His ears twitched atop his head.

She crinkled her nose in thought, wondering how it felt to be youkai and having the strong urge to fight. Kagome didn't really enjoy violence, and she didn't like the sight of blood. Other people's blood grossed her out.

"Higurashi! Higurashi, wait up!"

She turned her head again to see an optimistic Hojou running towards them, his hand waving in the air, the usual pleasant smile displayed across his face. "Hojou, hi!" She replied as he started walking next to them. "Did you have a good day today?"

"Not too bad." He answered, giving Sango a little wave.

Sango rolled her eyes and waved back, and Kagome knew she'd be hearing the usual speech about why she should have never dumped him in the first place.

Kagome gone out with Hojou their freshman year in high school, and it was fun, but she just didn't feel a whole lot for him. Not to get her wrong, he was cute and very nice. Even when she'd told him at the beginning of sophomore year that she didn't want to see him anymore, he'd shrugged it off and insisted they remain close friends. And while Kagome hadn't dated anyone since, neither had Hojou, and she couldn't help but suspect that he was still hoping something would happen between them again.

There just wasn't that _spark_ that she'd always read about in stories and seen in movies. That _spark_ that drove people to do stupid things, that made them all mushy inside. She wanted that _spark_.

"What are you girls doing today?" Hojou asked as they reached the tree and started to settle underneath its shelter of leaves.

Sango began to talk about the shopping she was going to do while Kagome gazed out onto the field, watching as Kouga stomped off and left Inuyasha alone with his unconscious classmates. He bent over and picked up his school jacket, dusted it off, and picked at his white shirt, looking annoyed at how messy it'd gotten. He turned and stalked off towards the Junior-Senior dorms.

"Right, Kagome?"

Kagome shook her head, snapping back to attention as Sango repeated her question.

"I think we should take Hojou along with us while we shop so you're not so much of a third wheel." Sango stuck her tongue out playfully.

"Ah, sorry, Sango, but shopping today would be a waist of time."

"No it wouldn't."

Kagome closed her eyes and rotated her head around in a clockwise movement until she felt the slight 'pop' that relieved her spine of the stress she could feel building up. The grass under her elbows and butt dampened her skin, and she felt the usual urge to scratch the itch that was prodding at her conscious. She wiggled her body slightly instead, feeling too lazy under the afternoon sun and slight breeze. She tilted her head back, her throat stretched out at an awkward angel, "yeeeeaaahhh," she drew the word out lazily, her mouth open, "it would."

Sango sighed in the way she always did, with her nose up in the air and in a slightly haughty tone. "I think you just don't like to have fun."

Kagome didn't even blink. Instead she concentrated on the air as it whipped through her hair languorously, feeling soft, weightless, she breathed slowly, almost hearing the wind rush through the grass as it flew breathlessly over her skin.

"You don't." She repeated. "You're a girl, you _have_ to like shopping. You're so full of shit."

Kagome sighed, knowing that her friend would not let her enjoy this beautiful, cloudless sky they had. But she wouldn't give up yet. She would answer, but she absolutely refused to move. "You think anyone who disagrees with you is full of shit." She replied, wishing in a sort of guilty way that her friend would somehow grow lazilly tired as she herself was, and drift off to sleep so Kagome could think in peace.

"Well, that's because anyone who _does_ disagree with me is full of shit." Sango smirked, satisfied with herself and leaned down next to Kagome on her side, her hip and one elbow she used to prop her head up sinking into the soft grass also. "Come on, Girl, let's go shopping. I'll buy you shoes."

"I don't need shoes."

"Every girl needs shoes."

"I don't need more than I already have."

"You don't have any."

"I have enough." Kagome sighed, realizing that her friend wouldn't give in, and finally opened her eyes, her pupils dilating in the intense sunlight. She squinted. "Sango. I don't have the money, or _patience_, to shop for shoes." She paused, meeting her gaze, and added: "At least with you."

Sango was Kagome's best friend, and not in the lightened sense of the word, either. They'd known each other a decent amount of time, as they hadn't been life-long playmates since crib-age, but hadn't become friends overnight, either.

Kagome remembered clear as day when they'd first met. Not that it was any sort of amazing story, nothing dramatic or exciting had occurred, although it had been a rather rough day on Kagome. In fact, if it hadn't been for Sango, Kagome probably would have just gone back to her dorm room and watched a movie like she usually did when things hadn't gone her way.

And things _hadn't_ been going her way that day. Not at all. She was tired and hungry, and she'd been hit on by too many old men at the grocery store. Her script had been shot down in a rather harsh way at the theater meeting after school, and she'd run into some rough-and-tumble girls who tried to rough her up a bit.

Sango had been out with her friends when they met, crashing into each other on the busy main street that Kagome usually avoided, but was in need of such a distraction on that day. She was angry and hurt, and hadn't been looking where she was going, her eyes glazed over in a weary sort of way. Sango, on the other hand, had been laughing merrily within her crowd, shopping bags swinging from her arms and gabbing about a boy she'd met just two hours hence.

Sango's bags flew every which way when they collided, as did Kagome's script, which she'd been clutching tightly to her chest. Both tumbled backwards, falling rather harshly on their behinds, letting out exclamations of distress and surprise.

Sango's friends, whom Kagome still didn't think much of today, got on her case in their usual haughty way, sneering and demanding an explanation. Sango, on the other hand, stood and brushed herself off, not saying a word as she bent down and picked up Kagome's script, blinking as she read the title and flipped the page. Kagome stood up also, glaring at Sango's friends as they started to pelt snide insults at her. But as she saw Sango pick up her whole freshman year's work, she too started to pick up the shopping bags, placing lingerie and shoes into their respective bags and boxes.

Sango hadn't given thanks. Instead she flipped another page, her brows furrowing in thought. As Kagome stood, the rather heavy bags now weighing her down, Sango asked, without looking up, "Did you write this?"

Slightly taken aback, if not a bit dumbfounded, Kagome smartly replied, "Huh?"

Sango waved the script in front of Kagome's face, eyes wide and eager. "This. This script. You wrote it?"

"Yes, I did." She answered, not sure if she was stepping into an insult or complement. "And I'd like it back, please." She added, switching the bags all into one hand so she could hold the other out, palm up to reinforce her demand.

"Wait, wait, wait." Sango demanded, a small smile crossing her face. "You go to Sukikyo also, don't you?"

"Freshman." She replied.

"Same here." She grinned, ignoring Kagome's outreached palm and tucking the script up under her arm. Then she grabbed Kagome's hand and shook it, rather rough for a female. "Sango Sashahara. You know who I am, right?"

Kagome scrunched her nose up. "Kagome Higurashi. And no, should I?"

Sango's eyebrow rose for a split second, then her grin was back full force. "No, you shouldn't." She replied. "I'm taking this script and talking to the theater teacher. Your script will be the next spring play." She stated, and walked right past Kagome.

Two days after, Kagome had gotten a call from the head of the theater department, letting her know her play was chosen for spring.

They'd been friends ever since.

"You don't have the patience to shop for _anything_!" Sango replied, drawing Kagome from her memories.

"I like shopping for school books." She taunted.

"You're not as big of a book-worm as you like to think you are." She retorted, folding her arms. "You suck at math as well."

Kagome blushed. "I do not _suck_ at it, I just… don't _like_ it very much."

Hojou laughed at their bickering as Sango rolled her eyes and gave him a 'told you so' look. They talked a bit more about subjects they didn't particularly like when Miroku strolled up to them, his handsome face beaming with his usual playful grin.

"Ladies." He said, bowing his head slightly. "And Hojou, how are you?"

Hojou smiled. "Hey Miroku. We're trying to convince Kagome to go shopping."

"Kagome doesn't like to shop." Sango added helpfully.

Kagome threw her hands in the air in defeat. "I don't care what you guys say, I'm not going out shopping for shoes I'll never wear."

Miroku nodded as he sat down next to Sango and kissed her lightly on the mouth, his hand slung over her shoulder. "Okay, Kagome, whatever you say." He answered, then a gleaming look passed over his eyes. "Anyone interested in the bit of gossip I just found out about Kagome, here?" He winked at her.

Sango and Hojou leaned in, eager to hear what it was all about. Kagome flushed a deep scarlet and leaned in as well. "There's gossip about me?"

He nodded again and leaned in also, feeding off of everyone's interest. "I've just heard from a very reliable source that Kouga has just claimed Kagome as his girlfriend."

The three of them turned to catch Kagome's reaction.

"What?!" She cried out. "When the hell was that decided?!"

He pointed towards the spot where Kouga's goons were just standing up, wiping the blood from their faces and trudging up to the nurse's office. "During an epic battle for your love. I ran into Inuyasha on the way over here. He was complaining about getting blood off of his shirt-"

"Toothpaste."

"-thanks for advice Sango, - and supposedly Inuyasha hit on you and then stole six hundred dollars."

"From me?" Kagome blinked back her confusion.

"From you."

"The gossip you heard was that Inuyasha hit on me and then robbed me of six-hundred dollars? I never had six-hundred dollars for him to steal. And I've certainly never spent enough time around the guy for him to hit on me."

"Well, maaaybe the six hundred was from a card bet that had absolutely nothing to do with you" He admitted. "But my version is so much better."

"Whatever, Inuyasha never hit on me, so Kouga can cool his jets. Not that he needs to get so worked up in the first place, because I am not Kouga's girlfriend."

Sango leaned into Miroku. "She's scared of him."

"You're scared of Inuyasha?"

"I am not!"

Hojou smiled, and it made Kagome cringe inside with guilt. "Higurashi isn't scared of anything." He said.

"Oh, Hojou, I'm scared of a lot of things." She fidgeted nervously across from him, blushing slightly. She wished he would stop complimenting her all the time. It just made the uneasiness between them worse.

Sango interrupted, sensing the awkward tension the two were building. "We're way off topic here, guys." She stated, flipping her long ponytail over her shoulder. "Are we going shopping, or what?"

"I'm in for anything you're in for." Miroku replied sweetly, leaning in a bit too close, his hand inching closer towards a sensitive spot.

"Don't push it, you pervert." She retorted, slapping his hand away.

Kagome shook her head. "Sorry, I'm going to study. I need to get this math stuff down."

"I would help you study," Hojou interjected, running his hand through his hair, "but I'm not so good at that subject. Need help with anything else?"

She smiled up at him. "No, thank you, Hojou. I'm passing everything else fine. I'll see you tomorrow in history."

"See you then."

"Have fun shopping, you two." She directed towards Sango and Miroku, who were standing up along with her and brushing off the grass that clung to their uniforms.

"We'll try." Sango uttered, and waved her friend off with a genuine grin. "Have fun studying."

"Yeah, yeah." She turned and started towards the Junior-Senior dorms, dreading a perfectly good afternoon bogged down with arithmetic problems.

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"Ah! Yes! Right there."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes as his finger pressed down onto the spot Kikyou was moaning over. His tongue licked up her neck, and he throbbed against her, getting turned on in spite of how annoyed he was.

She moaned again.

He wished she would shut the fuck up.

It's not that Inuyasha had anything against girls making noises when he pleased them. It turned him on like it would any other guy. But there was something… pornographic almost, about the way she was saying his name and grinding her hips lustfully into his own.

He growled in frustration, a sign Kikyou took as encouragement, and she arched her back against the cement wall, pressing his hand into her heat, groaning out his name as if she would die from pleasure.

Inuyasha knew just how she played their little game. She'd lured him up to the roof of the dorms again, after the sun had set and they wouldn't be seen, and had 'jumped' him, for lack of a better word. Her mouth had covered his and her bosom had pressed against his chest, moving them so he could feel her softness. She'd wrapped a leg around his hip and ground into him so he could feel her wetness against his jeans.

He would have been crazy not to get turned on by that. He would've been gay not to. But there was still something that lacked in their 'fucking' (for lovemaking was not a word he could use for what they did), something that left him sort of hollow after a heated encounter with her.

Inuyasha and Kikyou had been going at it like rabbits for the past two years now. She'd actually tried to kill him during their first encounter in their sophomore year, enraged by a comment he'd made about her ass. She'd come at him right after art class, when the room had cleared, with an exacto-knife, swinging with a surprising amount of control. She'd been in fights before, and won, by the way she knew what she was doing.

Of course, after a few moments of intense struggling and striking and dodging, and slashing and more dodging, they'd pounced on each other, and did it right there, in the art class equipment closet.

And then it was like he was hooked.

He couldn't get enough of her. She hadn't been his first sex partner, but she was by far the best and most exciting. She wasn't tame and repressive, she was loud and liked it rough a fierce, and enjoyed it when they banged each other around a bit.

It was all great for Inuyasha in the beginning. His testosterone was, obviously, shooting through the roof, and Kikyou gave herself to him whenever and wherever he wanted, and she loved it just as much.

Not that she was a slut. In fact, although Inuyasha had not been her first by all means either, she wasn't screwing around with anyone else. She rejected every guy who came on to her, without giving reason, and there were no rumors or speculation drifting around school that she was loose at all.

They had never labeled themselves as significant others, but there was that sort of bond, which was perfect for the both of them. Neither Kikyou nor Inuyasha were the Public Display of Attention types, nor were they gossipers or overly dramatic about relationship issues. They could talk, but it wasn't about anything significant. Mostly Inuyasha listened to her complain about her responsibilities at home, which consisted of her taking care of her younger sister, Kaede. Kikyou's parents had died when Kaede was born, making Kikyou heiress of an empire, leaving her with billions, but without any knowledge of how to take care of a child.

It wasn't like Inuyasha minded listening to her complain about her troubles. Kikyou was sort of hard-edged, and slightly feared by most girls and quite a few guys. While there weren't any rumors of her being loose in any way, there were rumors floating around about a few fights that had supposedly happened. No one could prove it, and her victims were too afraid to come forth, but everyone knew it was her. Her steely gaze was proof enough.

It was why he felt so comfortable around her. She understood and even accepted Inuyasha's harsh attitude and tough demeanor. And it was the main reason he enjoyed their talks. It meant that there was someone else out there that acted as he did, albeit undercover, yet was still humanly emotional. It meant he wasn't crazy.

He was just lonely.

Not that he'd admit it to anyone. Not anyone at all. Not even to Kikyou.

But that was the great thing about her. She knew he was lonely without him saying so, and he was grateful that she understood.

She just understood.

But it still wasn't enough. Although she was the closest person to him excluding Miroku, he didn't love her. He didn't feel a connection that deep. He didn't know if he _believed_ in a connection that deep. His parents had loved each other and all they did was wind up dead.

Besides, he definitely wasn't _searching_ for anything deep.

Then again, he wasn't searching for Kikyou anymore, either.

She still got him all hot and heavy, but he was starting to resent her, and he was fucking her more out of anger than anything.

She was still moaning, and Inuyasha grit his teeth in annoyance while he unbuckled his belt and pulled down his pants, pushing at her as he bit onto her neck harder than he would of, making her gasp in pain then moan _again_ in pleasure.

Ugh. She was pissing him off.

It bothered him that she enjoyed pain in sex so much. He didn't like how it made him feel. Like how the more she wanted him to hurt her, the more he wanted to.

He was known to be violent, and while he was in the midst of a fight, he loved it. He fed off of it. It was his air and his water; he lived off of the violence.

And it scared the living crap out of him.

Not that he was going to stop fucking her. He _was_ a guy, after all, and hell if he was going to live without it. He wasn't going to screw some simpering, quivering female, either. At least Kikyou didn't cry.

His hand was up under her skirt, inside her heat, and he was moving and moving and moving until her moans grew into screams and she released herself.

Her pleasure ebbed, and she was ready to take him in fully, whispering seductively into his ear, craving him. Blood pounded in his ears, his need for her grew, and he reached to shove down his boxers and-

BAM!

They both froze, eyes wide, half-naked, obvious to any outsider they were about ready to do the deed.

"AAAARRRRRGGGGHHHH!"

Inuyasha winced at the scream, flattening his sensitive ears to his head. "What the fuck?" He whispered, sliding Kikyou down so her feet touched solid ground as quietly as possible.

"Who is it?" She asked him, breathing heavily.

He shook his head in exasperation. "How the hell should I know?" He bit at her, reaching down and pulling his pants back up.

Lucky for them, they were hidden from the roof door, behind some sort of giant ventilation outlet. Inuyasha had led Kikyou to the place on purpose, not wanting anyone to catch him with his pants down.

Just like they'd almost gotten caught now.

"I will not lose to you!" The female voice shouted out into the dark night.

Inuyasha peeked around the corner of the vent to see a girl standing at the edge of the roof, her arms outstretched and seeming to reach for the stars. He watched carefully, wondering how they were going to get out of there unnoticed when the girl breathed in a deep breath and nodded to no one. "That felt good." She stated to herself, then turned around on her heel and sat on the edge of the roof, reaching into her pocket and pulling out a piece of paper.

Opening it up, she cleared her throat, and then looked up into the stars, as if she was reading to them. "Alright everyone, I wrote down a new poem, let me know if it's horrible." The girl smiled to herself and then held the paper up in front of her face. "If all the world were but a room, and I an inmate in it, I should sleep day and night and watch the fan tracing circles on the wall."

Inuyasha frowned. Her voice sounded slightly familiar, like, maybe they had a class together? Wait for it… He knew her voice… Oh yeah, the Higurashi girl. Damn, was she everywhere he was, or what?

"What the hell is that idiot girl doing?" Kikyou whispered behind him, an unintentional meanness in her voice. "Poetry?" She snorted. "You have got to be kidding me."

He rolled his eyes at her and pushed her back from the corner. "Let's get out of here."

"Finally. Let's go to the utility closet on the fourth floor and finish up there, I don't want to-"

"No, I'm going to bed. I'm beat."

"But-"

"Kikyou, I'm over it, okay? She sorta ruined the moment." Not that he was torn over it. He was actually slightly relieved.

"Do whatever you want." She shrugged at him. "Let's just go."

"Wait for the right moment." He added, turning back to the girl that was spouting off her poetry still.

"If my room were all the world, and I could stay inside it always, I should sit in my chair with my mind adrift and watch the leaves as they changed..." She paused, thinking aloud. "I don't know about that last word, do you think-"

Inuyasha took the chance and pushed Kikyou towards the door, slamming it right behind her and clicking the lock shut just as the Higurashi girl turned around.

"Who's there?!"

.

.

"Who's there?!" Kagome hadn't expected anyone else to be up on the roof. Most of the kids didn't know that it was accessible, which was something she counted on.

She could admit to herself that what she did was strange by normal standards. Talking to the stars as if they could really hear her words wasn't something everyone did. But she felt, for some reason, that they really could hear her when she read her poetry to them. She liked to imagine that they twinkled as they clapped, giving her a standing ovation for her wonderful words.

Kagome loved the rooftop at night. Loved the muffled sounds of everyone in the dorms as they got ready for bed, loved the view of the sun sinking slowly in the west, the way the stars appeared as it sunk, and loved the way she could come up here and talk aloud to herself without anyone thinking she was not all there.

But now someone _was_ there. And her heart pounded as the door slammed shut and a figure stood in the shadows.

"Kagome Higurashi, right?" A deep voice uttered from the darkness, stepping forward just a bit so she could see that he was wearing jeans.

She backed up to the edge of the roof and brought her fists up. "Watch it, I know karate!" It was a lame attempt at scaring off whoever it was. She hadn't taken a lesson of karate in her life.

The man chuckled. "Well, now. Kouga didn't mention that."

Kagome paused for a second before blowing out a large breath of relief, lowering her pathetic defenses. "Oh, is that it?" she asked, rolling her eyes. It was obviously one of Kouga's little followers, coming to ask if she'd date him again. Didn't they know that no meant no? "Go tell Kouga to shove himself, I didn't want to date him the first fifty times he asked, and I don't want to date him now."

"Good choice, he smells bad." The voice was smooth and silky, and deep. Kagome knew it was familiar… "And what's with his name?" The voice continued, as he stepped fully out of the shadows and into the starlight, his silver hair and white ears coming into view. He shook his head. "His parents must have been on drugs."

Kagome's eyes widened, and a shiver of fear went up her spine.

It was Inuyasha.

The bully.

The fighter.

The hanyou.

The bad-boy who had rumors spread far and wide across the school campus.

The tough guy who barely showed up for class and snuck around behind the school smoking, and probably did lots of drugs and had lots of promiscuous sex as well!

Well, the above mentioned were rumors. Except for the smoking part. She'd seen him smoking before. She couldn't help to glance behind him for any sign of a promiscuous partner. No one was there. They were alone.

She knew she was smart to be scared. Miroku vouched for him, which wasn't much, although Sango vouched for Miroku. Still. It was Inuyasha. And Kagome was slightly afraid.

She had, after all, just seen him beat the crap out of a bunch of guys over a few dollars.

Although, Kagome tended to push her fear aside when she or any of her friends were being insulted, and although Kouga was a bit of an annoyance, he was still a nice guy whom she considered a pleasant acquaintance. She huffed and stuck her chest out, crossing her arms. "You think Kouga's a weird name? Where did Inuyasha come from?" She tossed back at him, righteous in her insult. Ha.

"Touché." He mumbled back, a smirk on his face as he stepped towards her a bit more.

Her anger vanished when she realized what he was doing and it was replaced quickly by growing panic. Was he going to kill her? Push her off the roof and say she jumped? The Sukikyo Academy did have a high suicide rate. It wasn't an easy school to get through.

"Wha…What are you doing up here?" She asked, her voice shaking slightly. "The roof is off-limits to students."

He didn't stop moving until he was close enough to reach out and push her. "You're a student too. What are _you_ doing up here?" It was said with a sort of growl that kind of caught her off guard.

"I… I just come up here to clear my head and-"

"Read to the stars?" He drawled lazily, his eyebrow raised.

A dark blush spread over Kagome's cheeks, and she was immediately thankful that it was night out. "How do you-"

"Oh, I heard you." He interrupted again. The laziness had left his voice and his smirk reappeared, evidently enjoying toying with her. "What was it again? 'I should sit in my chair with my mind adrift and watch the leaves as they changed…?'"

Her mouth dropped open as he spoke her poetry, and she couldn't help but notice how they seemed to have more meaning when spoken in his voice. "You… You were listening?" Her face flushed again, although with anger more than embarrassment. "That stuff is private, you have no right to-"

Alas, she was cut off again as he glanced down at the folded piece of paper in her hands and tore it from her grasp, holding it above her head where she couldn't reach.

"Hey. Hey! Give that back! What do you think you're doing?!"

"Let me read the rest!" He growled, and it surprised her again. She'd never heard any human make such a noise in their throat before, and it sounded sort of natural coming from him. It seemed to fit his name, anyway, she thought fleetingly as she tried desperately to get her poem back.

"No, you can't! It's not done yet!"

"So?" He bit back. He pressed his palm against her upper chest, holding her at bay as he held the paper up so he could read it.

She was surprised that he could keep her there with only one arm. He was really strong.

He made a show of clearing his throat, and she knew he was probably getting enjoyment out of messing with her like this.

"Let's see here, now…" He said, scanning the paper for where she'd left off. "If my room and the world were one and the same, and I could live inside it, I would drift happy from morning to night…" He frowned slightly, and his voice lost the slightly playful edge it had held earlier, replaced by something Kagome couldn't pin down. "…dreaming dreams of dreams and watching the light hovering like butterflies on my brain, shifting and melting and flowing into the wall…"

She held in her breath as the words faded, and his voice tried off into nothingness. She wasn't fearful of _him_ anymore, not really. Now she was scared of what he'd say about her poem.

He was quiet for quite a while before he turned back to her, narrowing his eyes. "You wrote this?"

She nodded.

He stared down at her for a few moments, and Kagome realized just how striking his eyes were. People had called them gold, but Kagome didn't see gold, really. She saw amber.

A few seconds later, he seemed to jolt out of his thoughts and he took a few steppes back. "Keh." He uttered, and pushed by her, heading towards the door again.

"Hey, wait!" She shouted at his back. Before she could ask for her poem back he crumpled it up in his hand and threw it over his shoulder, making her chase after it.

He turned his head just before he disappeared from sight with a snarl. "That poem sucked. You have no talent." Leaving Kagome to stand with her mouth wide open and her heart's work clutched in her palm.

She stood there for a second, not believing that anyone could be so cruel. "You absolute _jerk_!" She shouted at the door. Inuyasha was long gone.

.

.

Kagome let out a yawn and tried to stretch as inconspicuously as possible. Math was the absolute worst. It was a class she always had trouble with, and while she'd managed to scrape by with a low 'B' for her previous years, she was not passing it this year in the least bit. It was a major point of stress in her life.

That was her, full of stress. Stress, stress, stress.

Her scholarship did, after all, depend on her grades. It wasn't as if her parents actually had the money to send her to such a prestigious school. But with Kagome's academic record, she'd been more than accepted, she'd been offered a scholarship that covered all four years of high school, and had even offered one to her younger brother for middle school.

It had been a proud day for her parents when she'd opened the letter, assured that their daughter would now have a set life. They'd even bought her a brand new laptop computer, something she'd been begging for since she could remember. Apparently getting into such a high-class school was grounds for thousands of dollars worth of computer equipment. Maybe they'd just figured it was okay because they were no longer going to have to pay for her schooling anyway.

She glanced out the window and gazed longingly at the school grounds. It was a nice day today, too, just like it'd been the day before. She relived the time spent lounging under the tree in her mind, and a small smile graced her face.

Only to turn into a frown when she recalled when she'd seen Inuyasha finishing up with his abusive beatings on their classmates. And then, of course, when he'd rudely interrupted her up on the roof, invading her privacy and whatnot.

The jerk.

She ground her teeth together remembering how he'd rudely read her poem, and then just crumpled it up and threw it behind him like it was trash and not words that she'd spend hours and hours pouring her soul into. And then to say that she had no talent… Ohhh, if she could just-

"Higurashi!"

"Eh?" She turned from the window, jeered out of her thoughts, her eyes snapping guiltily up to her teacher who was glairing from the front of the class. The rest of her classmates had turned their heads in her direction, eager for a little hazing during such a dull lecture. "Oh, yes?" She answered lamely, wondering how long he'd been calling her name before she realized.

"The answer to number four, please." He replied, leaning heavily against his desk and crossing his arms.

Ah, shoot. What were they going over again? She glanced down at her textbook, wondering if she was on the right page. Number four, number four…. She didn't see a number four on her page, just some example problems. Shoot.

"Higurashi?" The teacher started to tap his toe impatiently, and the class started giggling behind their workbooks.

Shoot! "Ah, sorry, Sensei…. What page are we on again?"

The teacher shook his head and nodded towards another girl who sat a few rows over and one up from Kagome, her hand raised high.

"X=28, Y=12." She answered, a smug look cast in Kagome's direction.

"That's right, Fujikawa." The teacher encouraged, turning back to the blackboard and writing down the next problem.

Kagome sighed and shook her head, glancing over to Sango who sat only a few rows over from her. Sango gifted her with a knowing roll of the eyes, pointing to the snobbish girl that sat with her nose in the air and making a sort of slashing sign with her hands, indicating the girl was on her list of people she was not happy with.

It made Kagome smile.

She knew who Fujikawa was. She'd never tried to be friends with her, though. Kikyou Fujikawa had money, and she knew it came with power, and though she was never caught doing anything underhanded, there were enough rumors going around about her that made them all think otherwise.

Whatever, she was mean, and that's all that Kagome needed to know about her. It was enough to stay away.

"Now, Higurashi, would you like to come up here and do problem eight, please?"

She resisted rolling her eyes as she stood up and walked towards the blackboard, picking up a piece of chalk and placing it to the board. It was a useless gesture; she didn't know what the heck she was doing. All the studying in the world would not be able to show her what to do. She just wasn't any good at math.

Her jumbled thoughts of the past twenty-four hours weren't helping her concentration, either.

A sudden siren blared though the classroom announcement speakers, so loud Kagome covered her ears along with the rest of class. "What the…" She uttered out, before the teacher came up behind her and yelled over the siren to take her seat again.

Only moments later, the siren stopped, and they were left in ear-ringing silence. The teacher, wide-eyed and pale-faced, brought everyone's attention up to the front. "Class, listen to me, and listen very carefully. That was the emergency lockdown siren, something very dangerous is happening." He paused to wet his lips. "This happens when someone is in the school that should not be here. We will all stay calm. You all will be very quiet and listen for announcements while I make roll call." He pursed his lips together and looked down at his attendance sheet, calling out names one by one until he landed on Inuyasha's.

"Kobun. Inuyasha Kobun?" He let out a low curse. "That boy is never here…" Then continued with his list.

Kagome glanced over to Sango, who looked as nervous as she felt, and then to the rest of the class. Everyone was on edge, not really knowing what was going on.

After the teacher finished, he walked to the door and pushed the lock in, jiggling the knob to make sure it held, then turned back to the class. "Alright, everyone, just sit still and wait for-

He didn't get to finish his sentence as the door crashed open with a loud crunching sound, sending splinters of wood up into the air, and six men wearing black suits and woolen masks charged into the room, carrying giant automatic guns. The first man placed a bullet into the teachers' head without hesitation.

The students surrounding Kagome screamed and yelled in fear and shock, the front row having been sprayed with blood, and God knew what else.

Kagome could only stare, fear creeping up into her mind as she sat in her desk, shocked at the scene that was being played out before her very eyes.

Oh God. Oh God. Oh God, oh God, oh God…

The guns they carried were large. She didn't know the names of different types, but they were big and mean looking, and they were all currently pointing to the class.

A few kids had jumped up when the shot was fired, and now the tallest of the men shouted at them to sit down. To sit down if they didn't want to end up like their teacher.

Kagome hadn't liked her teacher, really, but she didn't really dislike him, either. And the fact that she didn't know how to react to his gruesome death bothered her.

Of course, it was hard to know how to act when the barrel of a gun was staring hr in the face.

The man who was obviously the leader of the bunch sat down on the top of the teacher's desk, dark, beady eyes glaring out into the sea of young, frightened faces, and grinned underneath his mask. "Now, kids. This is kidnapping and hostage 101." The others laughed behind him.

"Each classroom in all the buildings of Sukikyo Academy are being watched like you are. Each of your teachers has been killed to teach you all a lesson. You disobey us, and you die. Understand?"

The class remained in silent shock, and Kagome started to sweat, willing herself not to shake like the smaller girl who sat in front of her was currently doing.

The man continued on as if the class had said 'yes sir.' "I will call out a name. The person who has this name will step forward and come with me to the headmistress's office, where you will stay and have a nice, long chat with my boss. Understood?"

Again, the fearful silence filled the air. No one moved a muscle.

"Alright then." The man looked down onto his piece of paper. "Sango Sashahara." He grinned. "Please come forward."

Kagome's heart skipped a beat.

_Sango?!_

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.o0o0o0o0o.

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Heeey everyone.

Long chapter, I know, but I wanted to leave the first chapter off with a nice, juicy cliffhanger, you know, for those of you who like to be tortured.

I know that this chapter didn't move the story on really until the end, but I promise, the next one will be filled with crazy edge-of-your-seat action and crazy twists! Gah!

…I also realize that what happened in Kagome's classroom is a heck of a lot like Battle Royal. O.O; Not meant to be that way, sorry, and I promise that the rest of the story is NOTHING like Battle Royal. Kagome's class will not be shipped off to a remote island where she'll be forced to kill her classmates, only to fall in love with Inuyasha and escape though a crazy plot twist….

Reviews would be lovely. They keep me going. And if you like this one, check out Pretty Kagome: Revised, and From the Future.

The next chapter is about 15 percent done, so… soon, my people, soon. I'm going to try and push out another chapter of Pretty Kagome: Revised before then.

~SugarRos


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